been lovin' you for quite some time
by gryffindorgal87
Summary: Darcy was pretty sure they almost broke up last night. (sequel to 'Begin Again')


**A/N: This fic is inspired by the Taylor Swift song 'Stay, Stay, Stay'. Also, Darcy kind of got away from me and poor Steve really wasn't allowed to say much. And this is unbeta'd, so sorry if there are any horrible mistakes.**

**Usual disclaimer: If I owned any of it, Darcy would have been in the Avengers movie.**

* * *

Darcy was pretty sure they almost broke up last night. It was one of their usual arguments concerning her safety (or possible lack thereof) at work and Darcy was just getting fed up with Steve's stubbornness. So she screamed in frustration and threw the first projectile she could find across the room at him, which just happened to be her phone. Lucky for him (and her), he caught it with those annoying super fast reflexes of his, sparing it from hitting the floor and breaking. When Darcy's brain had finally caught up with her actions, she stared in horror at the phone in Steve's hand. Yes, she and Steve have had arguments like this before, but neither one has ever thrown something at the other.

Darcy finally looked up at him, fully expecting Steve to just turn away from her in some kind of dramatic fashion. Instead he just rolled his eyes, sat down on the couch behind him while asking her if he should grab a pillow to use as a shield. The way Steve was just so nonchalant about her phone throwing just took the wind right out of Darcy's sails. She mumbled "Just forget it," before cuddling up next to Steve on the couch and turning the tv on. Steve knew this argument wasn't really over, but he was a smart man and kept his mouth shut as Darcy made him sit through another episode of _Here Comes Honey Boo Boo_.

* * *

The next morning, after breakfast and some DVR'd cartoons, Darcy turned to Steve and said "We still need to talk about last night. I read somewhere that couples should never leave a fight or argument unresolved. So..." but Steve had cut her off with a quick "Just a second" tossed over his shoulder as he ran into his personal training room. A moment later, he was walking back into their family room carrying his shield in front of him and said "Okay, let's talk."

It took all of Darcy's willpower not to laugh at how ridiculous Steve looked; standing there barefoot with his hair still sticking up all over the place, in a grey t-shirt, a pair of navy plaid pajama pants, and holding his Captain America shield in front of him. But she managed to hold it together. Darcy closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. She then opened her eyes, looked right at Steve and said "Stay."

"What?" Steve said in confusion. This was not the way he had expected this conversation to start.

"I'm staying, you're staying, we are staying together," Darcy continued. "I finally realized last night that I've been in love _love_ with you for quite some time. Possibly even before we officially got together." She walked over to Steve and took the shield out of his hands, and propped it up against the wall before taking his large hands in her small ones. Steve opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him with a finger on his lips. "And before you say anything, I know that you love _love_ me as well. Because why else would you do something as ridiculous as getting your shield before we talk? I know you think I look cute and adorable when I get mad, don't deny it. I've heard your conversations with the rest of the boys in this tower."

"How?" Steve asker her in confusion.

Darcy quirked an eyebrow at him. "Just because I have earbuds in, doesn't mean I'm always listening to music."

Steve shook his head and chuckled, "Tony was right about it being a bad thing you becoming friends with Natasha."

"Please," Darcy snorted, "Natasha didn't teach me that one. I've been doing that since high school. Anyways, stop distracting me."

"Yes, ma'am," Steve replied with a grin and a sloppy salute. Darcy just shook her head before suddenly saying "I need a cup of tea" before she dragged Steve back into their kitchen. Steve sat down on one of the bar stools next to the island, while he watched Darcy busy herself putting the kettle on and getting her tea out. By this time in their relationship, Steve knew most of Darcy's tells. So he knew that a cup of tea was like her security blanket and that her suddenly wanting to make a cup of tea meant that she was about to open up to him in a way that she rarely did.

Darcy turned around, crossed her arms, and leaned against the front of the stove. She took a deep breath before looking up at Steve and finally continuing where'd she left off. "Before you, I'd only dated self-indulgent douchebags. I didn't realise it at the time, but looking back now, yeah, that's what they all were. I was the only one who ever gave anything in those relationships and they just took all their problems out on me. Emotionally, not physically," she quickly added when she saw the look on Steve's face. "So by the time I met you, I was bitter and cynical and sarcasm was my armor. I had been burned so many times, that I just couldn't believe that a real nice guy could even exist outside of fiction." By now the kettle had started whistling, so she turned around to flip it off and pour the hot water into her mug. Darcy set the now full mug in front of her on the island before leaning against the island itself.

"But then a year ago, you came along; with your All-American good looks and Boy Scout manners," Steve tries to interrupt her here, but Darcy shakes her head. "Please let me finish," she asks and Steve nods at her to go on. "Thank you. So you come along and none of that seemed to phase you. You started opening doors for me, carrying my bags, and you even got me to laugh more than I used to. And I love you for all of that. I love you for being the person that you are. I love you because you took the time to memorize me. You took the time to memorize my fears, my hopes, and my dreams. And all those times I kept trying to push you away, you didn't leave. You stayed. So I'm going to stay. Because I love you and I love what we have here, between us. I love just being with you, and it's been occurring to me that I'd like to be with you, for my whole life."

Steve looked at Darcy across the island. "Did you just ask me to marry you?" he asked as he got up to walk around the island to stand in front of her.

"I think so?" Darcy replied, looking up at Steve. Steve picked her up and sat her down on the island so they could be eye to eye with each other. "Out of that whole confession of love, that's the only thing you heard?" Darcy asked, reaching out to him. Steve obliged by stepping closer to her. "I mean, once I was done, I seriously thought you were going to go on one of your patented Steve Rogers tirades about how dating you was dangerous and not safe for me. I mean, isn't that how this whole fight started in the first place? You got all mad because you found out that Coulson had me out in the field during last month's fight with Doom. And might I point out that that didn't even have anything to do with me dating you. I'm an employee of SHIELD, so I'm always going to be exposed to stuff like that, so your argument last night is totally invalid."

Steve sighed. "I know," he said, putting his forehead against Darcy's and holding her hands. "But I love you, so I'm always going to be worried about you and your safety. You know that."

"I do know that. And I also know that it goes both ways and that I'm always worried about you every time the team is called out," Darcy said, squeezing Steve's hands. "But I'd never ask you to stop being Captain America, because I know that's a huge part of who you are. You love your job because it's a way for you to help the world. And that's also why I love my job. My way of helping the world might not be as flashy as yours, but I like to think that I'm helping the world, one properly filled out and filed form at a time."

Steve pulled back and looked at her for a moment before threading his hands into her dark hair and kissing her. "You win," he muttered softly as they broke the kiss.

The smile Darcy gave him was practically blinding. "And you'll also stop trying to convince me in not so subtle ways to quit my job at SHIELD?" she asked him.

"Yes," Steve nodded as he pulled Darcy in for a hug. "Now, I have a question for you."

"What?" was Darcy's muffled reply against his shoulder.

"Did you really mean it when you said you wanted to be with me for your whole life?" Steve asked pulling back to look Darcy straight in the eyes.

"Yep."

"Well, okay then," Steve said as he pulled Darcy off the island and made her stand in front of him in the middle of their kitchen. And before Darcy could ask him what he was doing, Steve held one of her hands, and got done on one knee in front of her. Darcy threw her free hand over her mouth in surprise. "To use your own words, I've been loving you for quite some time and it's seems like you've given me no choice but to ask you: Darcy Lewis, will you marry me?"

Darcy just nodded at him before finding her voice, "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you." She practically threw herself at him as he was getting up.

Steve caught her and spun her around, which made Darcy shriek with laughter. He thought his face was going to break from how wide his smile was. "I don't have a ring right now since this wasn't exactly planned," he said as he put Darcy back down, but still kept his arms around her.

"I don't care about that. We can go look for something together later. I'm thinking vintage," Darcy said still wrapped in Steve's arms.

It was then that Steve noticed Darcy's undrunk mug of tea. "Your tea is cold. Want me to make you a new cup?"

"I don't want tea anymore, but there is one thing you can do for me."

"And what's that?"

"Kiss me, solider."

"Yes, ma'am," Steve said with a smile before kissing Darcy again.


End file.
